U.S. Should ‘Create Alternatives To Chinese Supply That Uses Forced Labor,’ Experts Say

A medical supply of face masks imported to Georgia were from a factory in the Hubei province in China, where more than 100 Uighur Muslims were sent to work, the NYT reported.

“One way the CCP punishes and deters opposition is through forced labor. It’s not limited to religious suppression or to making PPE, PPE supply is just helping bring long-term CCP practices to light,” Scissors told the DCNF.

Senior Policy Analyst and Human Rights Expert Olivia Enos and Senior Policy Analyst and Economist Riley Walters from the Heritage Foundation explained that PPE independence from Xinjiang would be more difficult than transferring masks and apparel production to other parts of China or other countries. Most Uighur Muslims are from Xinjiang, the NYT reported.

“It wouldn’t be hard to shift production from the Xinjiang area to either voluntary workers somewhere else within China or to other countries in the long-run,” Enos and Walters told the DCNF.

“Generally, products (masks, apparel) that use forced labor have alternative sourcing scattered across southeast Asia. PPE is a different story, however, given the spike in demand we’re continuing to see,” Enos and Walters wrote.

“Even as the U.S. and other countries ramp up domestic production, the U.S. is still having to import more than $3 billion worth of disposable masks a month from China, when in January we were barely importing $200 million worth,” Enos and Walters continued.

“It could very well be the case that by the time the U.S. builds or finds enough alternative sources for PPE from China, we may have a vaccine for COVID,” Enos and Walters said.

Experts have accused the Chinese government of coercing Uighur Muslims into involuntary factory work, according to the AP.

The AP investigation further found that the Chinese government is “committing demographic genocide” on its Uighur Muslim population through forced abortions, birth control, and detention imprisonment.